Front seats at the tennis

Warren worked at the Brisbane International Tennis yesterday and was informed that he would be presented with a five year pin for services rendered. Not just him but he was one of them, as such he would receive two free tickets, then it seemed that all the vollies would get two free tickets as well.

He asked his brother and his partner if they would like to go as well as us. There are no bad seats but we were up a way. The presentation was after the first match and there looked to be about 20 voltunteers and five ball kids.

We went out for lunch and I rang Warren to see where he was as he didnt need to work until 3.30pm. He was inside as he had been given an extra two seats from another volunteer who had two but she hadnt been able to give them away.

I said that I had never been that close in the fourth row back so we went for the last hour before he had to work.

No zoom here.

Summer of Sports

Earlier in the month it was golf, may have even been late November. Currently there is a cricket test on which we (Aussies) Look like losing at the moment.

Big bash (also  cricket) is on at night. I really like the big bash as its quick colourful and there is using a lot happening  not like the block and wait for a very good ball of test cricket.

Hopman cup (tennis) starts tomorrow, Brisbane televised from Sunday. There is also Hobart and Sydney follwed by the Aussie Open.

In Adelaide, there is a cycling race over several days whicn is part of the world cycling circuit.

If one likes to watch sport from the comfort of the lounge, jts going be a good couple of months. Thank goodness I do have my charity knitting to do as well as some editting or I can also play a game or two on my tablet during the down times. 

Sleeping with a spider

Had some trouble sleeping the other night so about 2.30am, I got up and went to kitchen to make myself hot/warm milo to see if they would help.

Coming into the bedroom,my eyes were drawn to the ceiling. Yuk, there was a spider on the ceiling just above the bottom of our bed.  It looked to be about a fiftycent piece so not a tiny thing. I went to get the spray usually I would have grabbed a shoe and smacked it up but I couldnt reach it.

A quick spray then I realised that the spider could drop onto the bed if I continued down that path. Time to wake Warren, thinking that he could possibly reach it if he stood on the bed. Half asleep he was wandering around and grabbed his shirt that hadnt as yet made it to the dirty clothes bin and flicked at it.

Lucy was a bit frightened, she had been asleep but came to the doorway when she heard us talking so I took her outside. Besides I didnt want to around when the spidertook off as who knows where it would go.

Warren thought that it scurried into the walk in wardrobe and was merrily spraying bug spray into the entry way.  We didnt see the spider again and assume that he went to his maker.

Stats say that we swallow up to ten spiders through out our lives, think that one would have been a bit chewy.

The pressures of owning a pet.

I didnt sleep that well last night, to the extent I saw midnight, 1am, 2.30am and a visit by a spider 3.30am and then I think I did get some sleep. Warren had been snoring and snuffling alongside of me until the spider visit but more on that later.

At three oclock we are both reading our tablets in bed (not the spider though), hence we slept in somewhat this morning and were slow to get going. As we had an arrangement for a coffee at 10.30, Lucy didnt get her walk.

Came home after coffee and a bit of shopping, needed a fluro light for the ensuite  the kitchen one refused to light on the weekend and Warren swapped them as the kitchen light was more important to have than our bathroom. Now the silly shopping season is over and we were out it was a good opportunity to get a new one.

By the time this was done, it was lunch, then it was too hot to go walking.

This evening after dinner and before it got completely dark, I put her harness on and off we went for a short walk.

I usually let her determine where our walks take us but I decided to walk down our street and then around past the shops and up through the alleyway.  She was quite happy to head down the road and half way along she looked to cross the road. As we needed to be on that side, I went along with that and we wandered around the corner then a few metres along the path, she sat. I have taught her to sit at the kerb and wait. She wanted to go across the road. I pulled her lead a little, she looked at me and I could see her phyically pushing down on the road as in she wasnt going anywhere. "Come on Lucy, we are going this way" as I pulled her lead a little more. She looked straight at me and then looked across the road and back to me again.

"Lucy" I could hear my voice being a little louder and clear "We are going this way! " still she sat. "LUCY! We are going this way!" She knew she had lost the battle and got up and continued to walk along with me but still looking across the road.

Then I realised the absurdity of it arguing with a dog who cannot answer back although she did let me know what she wanted. We have never gone that way but possibly some of her minders have andtherefore she thinks or wants to go that way.

REAL cows milk

Last weem we paid a visit to Maleny Dairies. One of my favourite places to take visitors or just togo and buy their great produce.

While we waited for the tour to start, Lindsay decided to set the chess pieces to rights.

After a short video it was off to milk the cow.

Lindsay surprised us by milking the cow into her hand and then drinking it. Nothing wrong with jt at all except that it is at body temperature.

Two of the calves at seven weeks old who were looking for a feed from the kids and anyone else. The pigs and chooks were also fed and we had a quick walk through a new exhibit which was a weatherboard hut that has been relocated. Two Italian men were captured in war time and they were allowed to stay insteadof prison or a war camp as long as they worked on the farm. This they agreed too and it was left how they lived.

Next on the milking sheds.

After a through hand washing there were tastings. Plain milk, nice and cold, then chocolate, strawberry and coffee milk. Plian unsweetened yoghurt  then apricot and strawberry flavour last was the custard. I dont like custard and I never make it but one exception is Maleny custard, dont know what they do but their custard is truly delightful. Sometimes I can buy iy at our local shops.

We came away with milk yoghurt cheeses and custard, I had thought to put the esky in the back of the car so no problems to get it home.

As we mainly used UHT milk, Lindsay was thrilled that we had real cows milk to drink. The four litres that I bought didnt last long.

King tide

A cooler day today and we went to tge beach to see the kangaroos and for the first time ever we didnt see any. Warren used to work in the area and see them every day regardles of the time of day so we could only assume it was being of the high water level. We could see that the sea had been iver the road in some places but although it was high still, the tide was going out.

Kids had a play in the playground while Warren got some chips then we went for a walk on the jetty which is a movable one.

I didnt go right to the end.
After getting splashed occassionally by the waves we headed back and Warren showed the kuds how to make propellers from bark and sticks.

What to do on a hot day?

Very hot today so we didnt go out anywhere, the plan was to go to Costco shopping but they dont open until 10am so I did a quick shop locally then it was home to try to keep cool.

After lunch Warren and Lindsay made a board game consisting of to do cards and dice around a board.

This was the end result. We had one game and then some modications were made, to colour more squares. The squares are to pick up a card and do what it says. Then we had another game, just like to point out that I won both times.

Water Dragons

Walking Lucy the other morning, a water dragon was on the path. Lucy isnt scared of them, more that she is curious about what they are.

This one saw Lucy and it headed to the water andI thought that would be the last we would see of him but no as instead of going into the water, he went up a tree branch.

I didnt realise they could climb.

We also saw water fowl.

Bowling Championships

Today was the day, four Williams's against three Davis's.
The dye was set.
We were even given two lanes along side of each so it was like a league comp.

The youngest members bowling first and they both used the bumpers, our youngest at seven used the ramp a few times.

All was going well but sad to say, we were not the victors on the day. We did an average and first game was W 92.5 D 123 second game we did improve slightly to W 94 but were still beaten.

Maybe if I had worked the average accordly to age, that may have worked in our flavour?

A good couple of hours was had in an air conditioned venue as it was a very hot one today

Ten pin bowling

We have a date for bowling with some other family later in the week so we thought we would get some practise in.

Lindsay apparently went bowling for her birthday this year and she bowled first so the bumpers came out and she pretty much had the angles worked out pretty well, I think in the first game she got 105 which beat me and Ryan.

Ryan didnt do so well until he changed shoes near tge end of the last game.

I improved in the second game from 100 to 105 and did win that one, beating Warren as well as the kids. Two games was enough though, when we played league it was three games.

It was a school holiday discount so $5 a game including shoes so not too bad.

We are ready for the family championship now on Thursday.

Our Christmas get together

We had our Christmas lunch/get together on Saturday. Jason suggested that we go the their place so the kids could have a swim. That was a good choice and the kids loved it.

After thinking about food, who will eat what and how to keep it cold, we decided to buy a subway platter and a couple of buckets of chicken from kfc.  I ordered it beforehand and we picked it up on the way. Jason said they would do nibbles and drinks and Sheridan brought dessert.

It was a stressfree day, the kids had a swim before lunch then after we had eaten they played with nerf guns in the front yard. With big cousins at 18 and 15 looking out for the younger ones, 12 to 7, it meant the adults could sit and chat.

As we used mainly plastic plates and spoons, clean up was pretty quick too. There were a few subways left over which I brought home to go into the bin. I packed up the left over chicken and Lucy has a few meals.

Secret Santa

I belong to a face book group and each year, someone conducts a secret santa. It seems that a lot of the women (and it is mainly women in this group) are either single mums or widows.

Not everyone elects to go in for secret santa but I have for the last few years. I posted on here under Christmas one of the gifts that I made to send and I also sent a book that I thought the person would like.

We fill out a questionaire about favourite colours,  etc etc. I was matched this year to someone that that far away and she is a single mum with a couple of late teens. I know from the group that she is madly saving to buy her own house. Therefore money is not plentiful and I would think that she would not buy anything for herself. Besides having contact from another person, the idea is a gift.

I posted mine off one morning and that afternoon, I received a parcel from who ever was matched to me, its not the same person.

Besides a card, there was a strong large shopping bag, a tablet bag with strap and another bag that I was at a bit of a loss over, thanhfully she had mentioned it in the card, it was a brolly bag, made from thickish material so thst if the umbrella was wet, it would absorb the moisture. As I usually misplace or get rid of the covers of umbrellas, it woukd be good. All handmade the articles were too.

Biscuits

A recipe that I have used when we were living in China as I was able to obtain everything that I needed. It was titled "104 cookies for $4". Its a good recipe but makes heaps and things can be added.

Recipe is 500gms of butter, cup of sugar, cream togerher then add a tin of condensed milk and 5 cups of sr flour. Takes a bit of work to mix it all together.

We did some rolled in sugar, added choc chips to another, milo to some and the last lot had mixed fruit.

Three trays went into the oven three times with 12 on each tray so 108 biscuits.

We had bought cookies cutters so there are hearts, stars, circles and rabbits, we were keeping the duck for the coconut, but ended up not using coconut. Several packs were given to the cousins today.

Oh Christmas tree, you know the rest

We havent had a Christmas tree in years. I dohave a set of twigs that Imade several years ago with some tinsel wrapped around it that sits in a pot and usually does duty as our tree.

Warren went to Bunnings today to buy some Christmas lights he thought the kids would have fun putting them up. They had sold out of lights so he bought a tree instead.

Of course the bottom one came first.

He did put up lights outside along the gutters as well and bought a type of disco light that shines red and green lights in different patterns on the front of the house. This is the extent of our decorations.

The Grinch

I took the kids to the movies yesterday. I was surprised at how busy the shopping centre was as well as the movies, so many kids there. We were given seats up in the second tier, dont think I have ever beenup there before.
Movie was okay, thought it was a bit long almost two hours.
Some quite funny bits at times.
Unlike a lot of kids movies these days, I didnt find any underlying humour.
Kids enjoyed it, even the 15 year old which surprised me that he agreed to go, I thought it would have been too young for him.
He even suggested to Warrenthat he should go and he would probably like it.
I did look for a hint of sarcasm but no, not a whisper.

South Bank

Today we took the train and bus into Mater Hill Station and then back into Brisbane stopping off at platgrounds.

I just find this building is stunning.

Such a nice walk along here under the arch and flowers. There are a couple of wide leaf looking structures up high to give shade.

This pool was open and had lots of people out using it. Unfortuneately the smaller pool with the fountains is still closed for maintenance said the signs.

After lunch it was time to climb up into the frame. Great to see that there were sun shades over the equipment.

Picnic at the park

A picnic and an opportunity to feed the ducks never fails to please and put smiles on faces, no matter the age.

I made ham rolls, boiled eggs and took some biscuits and chips, plus a big bottle of water.

These are the ducks coming after some bread had been thrown out.

There were pigeons, ibis, ducks a water dragon all vieing for a small piece. We also saw turtles, eels and a cormant. There was a roll left over so ducks got that well.

A quick walk around the lake trying out al, kf the exercise equipment while I packed up, then across the road to the proper playground for a few minutes then home to air con as it was hotter than I thought it was going to get. 28 degrees.

Tree trimming and Flowers

A guy dropped in a few weeks and asked if we would allow his company to trim our tree. The business was a florist and they use the foligage or greenery to put with bunches of flowers. As the tree was due for a trim, we agreed expecting them in a couple of weeks.

I would say that it was four or five weeks ago and just as we were discussing it, Warren got a message on his phone, someone would there the next day.

This was the tree a couple of weeks ago.

They didnt take that much.

This was our payment. A win/win situation

Christmas gifts

I had a couple of gifts to send for an online group that I am involved in. One was a secret santa and I was to send a small gift of approx $10 to that person. I was hoping that we would be given our person sooner rather than later mainly because of the post.

I had bought a Christmas jelly roll a few weeks ago for about $13. A jelly roll is used mainly for quilters, its a heap of fabric, mine had 10 different pieces. Each piece is cut into about 2 inches or 5 cms wide and 2 metres long. Although mine was 10 pieces there were two strips of each.

I bought it, my first jelly roll to make an advent calendar, I made two and there was still heaps left over and so I made two wall hangings, the backing was from a pair of curtains that I made and then replaced a few years later as the windows really needed heavier curtains.

I had bought a book to go with the wall hanger as both like to read.

Most of the stiching   was hand done which I did while watching  golf and cricket on the TV last weekend in the heat. Items were posted yesterday and thats my Christmas stuff all done.

Flowering trees

We have a tree in our garden that does have great flowers. It was the first tree that we put in almost fifteen years ago.

Lucy and I were walking tge other day and in a street near us was this one, so many blooms on it.

This one is ours

Not quite the same yet.

A little project

Earlier in the year, we exchanged our bed from a queen size to a king size one. When we went shopping for it, I saw one made up on the floor and it had a sign on it saying floor stock only one left and as such it was a discounted price.

Not one to shy away from a bargain I had a good look at it and it ticked several boxes. Had a head board but no foot board, our old bed did and several times we had walked into the corner of it so no foot board was a bonus.

The colour was good a dark but not too dark walnut and it had two drawers at the end of the bed.

Yep that was what I wanted.

Putting away winter clothes in my drawer at the bottom of the bed, Warren saw me grooping under the draw to pull it out, there is a small lip but it is right underneath, and he said, "That could do with a handle".

We had a couple of things to get at Bunnings yesterday and I remembered about the handles so we bought those as well. I figured that if we had them, it was closer to having them put on.

Working in my sewing room, I heard some noise but didnt know what it was until I was asked to come and comment.

Woohoo handles were on.

Cost? $5.45 each and a bit of time but will make opening the drawers much easier.

Exploding sausage rolls!

I got cooking yesterday, made a couple of salads, a quiche for dinner and I knew that I had some pastry in the freezer, which these days is unusual for us. I also had sausages so decided to make sausage rolls, the easy way.

The easy way is just cut the pastry sheets in half, place a sausage along it, sometimes need two and a bit sometimes just two depending on the size/length of the sausage.

I had bought cheese sausages, hadnt bought them before, they had pieces of cheese inside.

Well, the first problem was, I had a feeling that it was short crust rather than puff pastry. I had used a couple of sheets and just repacked it in a plastic bag.

Not sure why they exploded, maybe the pastry, it did taste a little sweet. Maybe when the cheese in the sausages got hot, it expanded. Never had it happen before.
Warren tells me that they taste alright though.

Black rope

Since Lucy has hurt her leg, she hasnt wanted to come in through her door. Thats fair enough but we have found that when leaving the door open for her, with the heat tge flies were coming in so we needed to do something else.

Warren took himself off to Bunnings of course and rang me to see what I thought of his choices. I just said black.

He bought it home and then put it up after making two hooks to hang it off.

This is what it looks like and it WORKS!  We can leave the door open and it does keep the flies out. Seems wwird as there would be plenty of room for them to come in but they dont seem to do so. How cool is that!